Ice, Chinese consumers' newest crush

Surging demand

Dong Yuanyuan, head of ice-cup procurement at Freshippo, a grocery and fresh goods retail chain, said: "Over the past two years, we have clearly seen ice cups grow into a sizable market."

"Some have predicted that edible ice could eventually outsell ice cream, while others have joked that edible ice is taking over the world," she said.

According to Dong, ice cups first emerged in Japan and South Korea, where iced drinks are popular year-round. In Japan, annual consumption has reached 2.57 billion cups, comparable to the volume of bottled water consumed.

Dong said when ice cups entered the Chinese market more than a decade ago, monthly sales were only a few dozen boxes. From 2024 to 2026, annual consumption in first-tier cities had reached 48 cups per person.

"Annual ice cup consumption is already more than twice the roughly 20 cups of coffee consumed per person. In addition, the market is growing by more than 300 percent a year, leaving ample room for further growth," she added.

Freshippo first introduced ice cups in 2021, along with bags of ice for consumers looking to have them available at home.

According to Freshippo data, demand for ice peaks earlier than sales of iced drinks during the year.

"Driven by strong demand for DIY drinks over the past two years, we have moved up the launch of our ice cups from early summer to early spring. As the camping season begins in spring, we usually see the first sales peak," said Dong.

"After the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off in June, sales of slow-melting ice cubes developed specifically for cocktails rose 220 percent week-on-week on average, making them one of the season's standout products in the drinks market," Dong added.